48 Hours
by iWatchtv
Summary: sequel to exoneration. Vance is kidnapped, the SecNav is breathing down Gibbs' neck and there's a big freaking mystery that could tear the entire NCIS team apart forever again . You know, same old same old...also there's some Tiva.
1. Hunted

**Note**: Yeah, this is the sequel to exoneration because there's a bunch of stuff i left really open at the end of that story. So, I guess you should read that one first, but you might not have to. Idk, i'm not sure really where this one is going. Anyway, just two things i want to say straight off. School started a few weeks ago, but they just started to give us like actual work. As a result, i'm having less and less free time and i'm spending much of that free time sleeping. So sue me. second, my other stories have been relatively tame, so in this one, i'm gonna add some more violence, maybe some cussing. But no smut. sorry. But there will be sexual tension/lotsa innuendo. It's not that i have anything against smut, i just can't really write it well. Ok, now read. And the one thing i'm sure about is the the number of reviews will greatly influence how often i update and how long the story ends up actually being. So, if you like, review.

Oh yeah, this chapter is short and is kinda a flash forward...the opposite of a flashback

Hunted

The man sprinted down the old trail panting heavily, yet not daring to stop. He could barely see in the failing light but he struggled on; to stop would mean death. Hopefully.

The path abruptly ended in a small grassy clearing which under different conditions one would have considered beautiful. At the moment, it was just a large open space separating him from his freedom.

He had barely made it half way to the safety of the trees on the when something literally tore into his leg. It collapsed under him, and he came tumbling to a stop soon after.

He grabbed his wounded leg in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. He froze as he saw his pursuer emerge from the shadow of the trees.

Tony approached the helpless man in the clearing with his still smoking gun drawn. He smiled humorlessly at his victim.

"I just said I wanted to talk. You really shouldn't have run. It would have been less painful." He paused. "Well, maybe it wouldn't have been less painful, but it would have definitely been much easier. For me anyway."

The man writhing on the ground said nothing. Unless of course the occasional whimper of pain counted as speech. Tony crouched down next to him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. What?" He put his hand next to his ear.

"I didn't do anything." The man finally managed to rasp through gasps of pain. Tony straightened.

"The hard way then. To be honest, I was hoping you would deny it." He holstered his SIG and slowly moved his foot to the man's wounded leg.

"I'm going to count to one. Ready? One." He slowly began applying pressure. The man's screams reverberated around the clearing.

"You know," Tony began conversationally, "I don't understand why you ran into the forest. There's less people, buildings, cars and, probably most important for you right now, less people to hear you scream" The only response was a weak moan.

"You...can't do...this..." the injured man rasped between breaths. "Cops have...to follow rules." Tony ignored him.

"This reminds me of Dirty Harry. The first one and my personal favorite. Clint Eastwood corners the sniper in the middle of a football field. He is forced to use..creative measures to get a confession." He leaned over his victim.

"He got in a shit-load of trouble because, like you said, we cops need to follow rules. Unfortunately for you, right now I'm not a cop. I'm on vacation." He reapplied the pressure on the man's leg.

"I took your goddamn director, fine, I admit, for the love of god let me-" The rest disappeared in a gasp of pain.

"That's true, you did kidnap the director of NCIS, but that's not why I spent a days tracking you across two states." Tony's expression darkened for the first time since entering the clearing.

"I'm here because you shot my partner." He hissed.

**Plot twist...**


	2. Back to the Beginning

**Note:** I just felt like writing another chapter because the first chapter was so short. Also, because i probably won't be able to update until next weekend. Hopefully sooner; but don't hold your breath. Because then you would probably die. So, this is the first chapter chronologically. I felt kinda weird about the beginning, but i guess it works. Oh yeah, and i just figured out the ending. So i know that. But i'm lost in the middle. Whatever. And the reviews are great, so do more, but as long as you guys like it, thats fine i guess.

And house premieres this tuesday. gonna be awesome.

Back to the Beginning

48 Hours Earlier

"Two days? Two days!" The man on the screen nearly yelled.

"Yep." Gibbs answered calmly.

"The director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service disappeared off the face of the earth and you didn't think it was important enough to inform me of it until now?"

"Standard protocol is to-"

"Don't give me that shit Gibbs. I've heard of you, and standard protocol isn't what you're known for." Gibbs allowed himself a small smile. The man sighed, his anger dissipating.

"However, you are known for results. I'm giving you and your team two days to find him. If you don't, I'll be forced to call it in to the FBI. That'll cause a mess that neither of us wants. It'll be my head if the public finds out that the head of a federal agency has disappeared without a trace. If he isn't safe, who is? Just find him."

"Yessir."

"And Gibbs?"

"I know that you just brought back the team Director Vance broke up. To be honest, I think it's a little suspicious that you brought them back the day Vance disappeared. But what I think right now is immaterial. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt Gibbs; don't make me regret it." Gibbs nodded. The connection cut out. He sighed and walked out of MTAC nearly running into his newly reinstated senior field agent.

"Boss! Hey. Um, nice job, I wouldn't have been able to tell the Secretary of the Navy we lost his director."

"You're not me DiNozzo." He maneuvered around Tony and headed towards the stairs. Tony followed.

"What do you have?" Gibbs called out as he entered the bullpen. McGee looked up startled. Ziva was leaning back in her chair with her feet on her desk. She hastily removed them after a look from Gibbs.

"You didn't tell him?" McGee hissed at Tony.

"I didn't have a chance to Mc-."

"You didn't have a chance to do what?" Gibbs interrupted, his impatience beginning to show.

'We uh...can't access Director Vance's file." McGee hastily explained.

"What?"

"It's classified. And none of us has the clearance." Gibbs shook his head and strode over to McGee's computer where he began to enter his own security clearance.

"Yours does not work either." Ziva called from where she was busy examining one of her knives.

"You stole my password David?"

"uh-"

"She meant that she's guessing since that none of ours worked, yours won't either." Tony answered for her. Gibbs cocked an eyebrow at silent thank you that passed between the two. He let it go and finished typing.

A large 'access granted' window appeared on the screen. McGee stared in shock.

"Boss, your password didn't get us access before! I didn't think you had clearance that high." He exclaimed earning glares from Tony and Ziva.

"I don't. The director does though."

"Vance?" Tony asked.

"No. Jenny." He quietly answered.

Dozens of pages of information on the missing director began flying onto the screen.

"There's a lot of info boss, what're we looking for exactly?"

"Anything."

"Any way to be less specific?" Tony muttered under his breath earning him a Gibbs slap.

"I mean sure thing boss. Happy do to it." He gingerly walked to his desk attempting to ignore Ziva's amused chuckles. The team watched as Gibbs headed presumably towards Abby's lab.

McGee printed out the files and handed a third to Tony and a third for himself before offering the remainder to Ziva.

"I do not really work here McGee, I am therefore not authorized to do paperwork." She smiled sweetly at him.

"You really think Gibbs is gonna buy that load of crap Officer David?" Tony said without looking up from his own pile. Ziva shot him a dirty look and snatched the papers from McGee's outstretched hands. McGee looked back and forth between them.

"Are you guys...okay? One second Tony is covering for you, and the next he's making you do paperwork.

"He is just upset with the bed part of 'bed and breakfast'."

"I told you, I have a back condition, we could easily have shared the bed, there's no need to worry about your virtue. What's left of it anyway." He flashed her a grin before dodging a stapler.

"You really thought I was inviting you over for sex didn't you? I can not believe that you truly have an ego that big."

"Believe it or not, my ego isn't the biggest part of me." Ziva rolled her eyes in disgust.

McGee sighed and shook his head.

"I changed my mind, I don't want to know." His announcement fell on deaf ears as the two kept sniping back and forth about their sleeping arrangements.

McGee simply settled down back into his chair and began digging through piles of useless and meaningless information searching for one simple answer to a very simple question.

Where the hell was director Leon Vance?

NCIS Director Leon Vance groggily opened his eyes.

It didn't help his vision considering there was a bag over his head, but it was the effort that counted. His attempts to move were met with even less success. His body refused to respond to his brain's commands, though he had enough sensation in his arms and legs to realize he was tied to a chair.

That was generally not a good sign.

"Good morning Director. I'm glad to see you're awake." The voice registered briefly in Vance's mind. It was a familiar one. That was a worse sign.

"I believe we have much to discuss. I've been waiting a long time for this Leon. A very long time. But I can wait a little longer. For now, I need you to be...less aware." The last thing Vance felt was a sharp pain before the blackness returned.


	3. Long Nights

**NOTE**: Okay, so it's been like a week since i updated, but i've just been liek really really busy with school crap and homework and stuff. So basically, this is the first chance I've had to really sit down and write anything. I'm really tired right now anyway, so i'm just gonna jump right in. This is a really long chapter, but mainly because it has alot of explaining and stuff. I may edit it or even rewrite parts of it, but for now, this is it. I'll try to do one more chapter this weekend, but i seriously doubt i'll have time. So please review and give me ideas or whatver you want, I just liek to know people are actually reading and what they think. Just say anything, even if it has nothing to do with the story. I dont mind. Oh yeah, and NCIS premiere on tuesday, so much awesomeness...

Long Nights

"TONY!" Tony looked up from the mountain of papers piled on his desk just in time to be trapped in one of Abby's vice-like hugs.

"Ab-Abby..." He managed to choke out. She quickly released him and darted over to Ziva's desk.

"ZIVA!" She shouted as she grabbed the other woman in an equally tight hug.

"Shalom Abby." Ziva responded amusedly. "Again." She added.

"Abby," McGee interrupted their reunion. "Tony and Ziva have been here for a couple days now. And you've done this everyday since then."

"Oh, McEnvious sounds a little jealous to me. What do you think Ziva?" Tony smirked at his partner.

"He does." She nodded solemnly.

"Timmy," Abby put her hands on her hips. "You were here all the time. You shouldn't be jealous of them! You don't know what they went through! They were in the line of fire for eight horrible months. Their lives in danger every second of every day." She narrowed her eyes. "They were literally putting their lives on the line every time they woke up to do their jobs. You were here, at NCIS headquarters the entire time, safe!"

"Ziva was working at the embassy and was stationed on an aircraft carrier that spent the entire eight months doing training missions!" McGee protested.

"That's not entirely true probie, we had to deal with," He paused for dramatic effect, "The storm. It started as an ordinary sunny day, but soon, there were waves taller than this building crashing against the side of the ship. I saw a fishing trawler get vanish into the waves and I was sure we would be next." He shivered at the memory.

"See McGee? Look how selfish you are! You know what? I can't even talk to you right now." Abby exclaimed before turning on her heel and heading back to the lab. McGee turned to Tony.

"That was the plot line to the perfect storm, wasn't it?"

"Yep."

"Cute Tony." McGee snapped at him. Ziva suppressed a giggle.

They then reluctantly returned to pouring over the vast amount of information regarding their wayward director. McGee let out a sigh as he tossed yet another one of Vance's old case files on the ground and picked up the last folder on his desk. He quickly skimmed it and threw it on the finished pile beside him. This was pointless. He then realized that something in the last folder had stuck out to him. It tickled something in the back of his mind.

On impulse, he reached down and retrieved the file he had just discarded and began to read it again. Carefully this time. His heart began to race as he realized what he may have uncovered; partly because it could save their director but mostly because it meant he could stop futilely combing through ancient cases.

"I...have to check something." He announced to the confusion of his teammates before rushing to the elevator.

"McGee! Probie!" Tony called after him. "Where do ya think he's going?" He glanced in Ziva's direction.

"Maybe he is going home?"

"Ha, I'd like to see Gibbs face when he finds out McGee-" He broke off. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"

Ziva quickly scanned the area before shaking her head.

"I do not see him." Tony gave a sigh of relief.

"Maybe we should follow his lead, I can think of a few things I would like to do in your apartment."

"I really do not think this is a good time for us to begin bargaining about sex Tony."

"You read my mind, Officer David." Gibbs commented calmly as he strode into the bullpen.

"Gibbs-I uh...what I meant was..." She stuttered.

"I know Gibbs, she just keeps wanting to get in bed with me. Very distracting. I'm working through it though, don't worry." Tony said with a completely straight face. Ziva's hostile glare failed to break him.

Gibbs ignored the him.

"Where the hell is McGee?" The bickering between his two remaining agents quickly came to an end.

"He uh..." Tony began.

"Is right here." McGee finished for him and quickly returned to his desk. "You're never going to guess what I found."

"I don't want to guess, McGee. I want to know. Now." McGee swallowed.

"Right." He typed a few keys on his keyboard causing Vance's personal file to appear on the screen.

"Director Leon Vance. In his dossier, there are numerous commendations from his superiors and co-workers, however, all of those before he joined NCIS are either missing, or not included. But, I found a mention of one from when he was attending Harvard which I think may be very important. So I had to go call a friend who works in the city archives to get the details. He's emailing them to me now."

Gibbs gave him a look that clearly said he didn't see the importance so far. A few more keystrokes and a more complete file appeared.

"Vance attended Harvard first, before Annapolis. The summer after his first year, he received a commendation for helping to catch a bank robber who had stolen several hundred thousands of dollars the year before. Vance's testimony is what put him away." McGee stopped reading as he realized the description of the case was extremely familiar. "You know, I was actually there at the trial, I can't believe I didn't realize I had seen the director before. I used to go to court with my dad as a sort of bonding experience-"

"Wait, you and your dad bonded at court trails?" Tony interrupted.

"Um...yeah." Tony thoughtfully scratched his chin.

"That explains a lot actually." He was about to say something more but Ziva elbowed him n the stomach.

"Continue." He wheezed. McGee however was still reminiscing about his past

"Those were good times. I was about twelve, maybe thirteen, and I remember that they didn't find all the money. For months I wondered where it was and would spend my weekends trying to find it."

"Wanted a pocket protector didn't we?" Tony managed to slide in before Ziva silenced him with another glare.

"You know, I think that may even be the reason I decided to join NCIS, the whole crime fighting thing. Anyway," He snapped back to reality, "I checked the prison records, and he was paroled last month."

"So, this could be about revenge? The Vance's testimony put the man in jail, and now he wants forward payment?" Ziva surmised.

"Yeah, it could be about payback," Tony put emphasis on the last word. "Very good Officer David. Good to know you haven't lost your edge."

"Neither have my knives." She hissed back. Meanwhile Gibbs was carefully studying the screen.

"Why'd he drop out of Harvard?"

"What?" McGee said.

"He was going to one of the best law schools in the nation and after he catches a felon, he drops out. Why?"

"Does that really matter?" Tony made a buzzing noise.

"I'm sorry, but that is the wrong answer. We were looking for 'on it' or 'right away boss'."

"Right. I'll find out. McGee grabbed the file and hurried away. Gibbs turned to Tony and Ziva.

"You two, find the man he sent to prison." He shot them a look. "and try not to get...distracted." He hid his smile at their dumbfounded expressions before he too left.

"You know what I just realized?" Tony finally said as they both stared at their boss's retreating figure.

"Everyone thinks we're sleeping together?" Ziva answered.

"No. We really should have asked McGee the name of the bank robber before he left." Tony rushed over to the other man's computer.

"Shit, he logged off...and I don't have the password."

"Why don't we call him?" Ziva suggested.

"Oh! Thats a great idea Ziva, why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah, I remember." He held up McGee's cell phone which was lying on his desk.

"Great, now we have to go through the files of every bank robber in the past twenty years. I thought we were done with paperwork." Ziva laughed.

"Do not worry Tony, I have had enough paperwork in the last few months that a little more is not so bad." Tony remained unsatisfied.

"It's gonna be a long few nights." He moaned as he stared at the paperwork piled on his desk. He glanced back to his partner and was startled to find her face suddenly mere inches from his own.

"Well, when this is over, I will do my best to make future nights much more...enjoyable." She whispered seductively.

"Really?" Tony's smile increased by several watts.

Ziva whirled around and strutted back to her own desk.

"I may put another pillow on my couch for you." She called back to him.


	4. Finding a Needle

**Note: **First off,the season premiere was awesome. Less Tiva than i had hoped, but i'll live. Anyway, back to the story, this is the next chapter, obviously, and...thats about it. Mainly just filler about the plot. And some very subtle Tiva in the very beginning, if you can find it. But there will be more in later chapters. I promise. Kinda. and of course, i probably won't be able to update for another week, but if i do, it will be a really short chapter. my bad, but i just don't have enough time. And one more thing, review!! I only have 8...it's very depressing...but whatever, I'll live. One of the characters might not, but i will. mwuhahaha. and for the record, means like, time has passed i guess...idk. read and enjoy. and hopefully review.

Finding a Needle

Tony cracked open an eyelid. He instantly registered two things. First off, it was morning; he'd been here all night. Again. Second, he was splayed over his desk with his jacket pillowing his head. Strangely he did not remember taking it off, but that wasn't really important.

He eventually came to the internal decision to return to sleep and had once again closed his eyes when suddenly a familiar female voice woke him.

"Comfortable DiNozzo?" His head shot up as he whirled around in his chair coming face to face with a smug Ziva who was leaning on the wall behind his desk.

"Not anymore." He grumbled. "Has anyone ever told you that you have serious personal space issues?" She flashed him a grin and moved slightly forward.

"Yes, but they didn't mind for very long."

"Let me guess, old boyfriends?"

"Targets." She laughed at his expression and returned to her own desk.

"Whatever," Tony replied cooly after composing himself. "Just make sure you have something for Gibbs."

"And make sure you have it now." Gibbs added as he came into view, steaming coffee in hand. Both of his agents quickly stood up and rushed over to him, each determined to present their own information first.

"Well boss, good morning to you too. I bet you're wondering what we found?" Gibbs met him with a blank stare giving Ziva the opportunity she was looking for.

"The man Director Vance helped put away is named Robert Stenner. He was sentenced to fifteen to twenty-five years and sent to the Maryland Correctional city."

"Get him." He turned to leave but stopped when he realized the other two hadn't moved. "Waiting for something?"

"Um..." Ziva trailed off, wondering how exactly to explain their current situation.

"He was transferred." Tony interrupted.

"To where DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"That's not important, mainly because he was transferred again. All in all, Stenner has been moved shuffled between prisons almost continuously for the around fifteen years. He finally ended up in Baltimore correctional facility."

"I don't care how many times he was transferred, I just want him here, now."

"I called a buddy of mine there already boss. Stenner never arrived there. The paper work did, but he didn't. The warden told everyone to let it go. Who ever this guy was, some one very high up on the food chain made sure he never stayed in one place long enough to get close to anyone."

Gibbs stared at them both for a few seconds.

"Where is he now?" He asked slowly as if that would change the answer. Tony and Ziva glanced at each other.

"We...we do not know Gibbs." Ziva finally answered.

"Right now, he could be literally anywhere. Lost in the system, free, even in another country. There's no way to know."

"To find him now would be like finding a needle in a stick stack."

"Needle in a haystack, Ziva." Tony quietly whispered to her.

"I don't care what the hell it's buried in, I just want you to find that damn needle!" Gibbs yelled as he stormed away.

"That went well." Tony observed. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Shut up."

McGee walked into the bullpen whistling. He grinned at the evident exhaustion of his teammates.

"You guys been here all night?"

"Yeah, where were you McTardy? I left you a message telling you to get the hell over here."

"Um, I was at home. Sleeping." Ziva stared at him in shock.

"You were sleeping and doing nothing while we were working our asses off? If Gibbs does not kill you I most certainly will."

"Not if I get him first Zee-vah."

"Ah-ah-ah, not so fast you guys. I never said I didn't do anything there." McGee interrupted.

"Yeah, you said you went home and slept. That counts as doing something, technically, just nothing productive." Tony countered.

"Okay...that actually makes sense. But in this case, I did do something, I found out where Robert Stenner is. Was. Could be." He paused thoughtfully. "May be."

Tony shook his head in surprise.

"I'm shocked by the certainty there probie. But you might as well spit it out. I'm clinging to your every word here. Especially considering Ziva has been failing miserably so far."

"Hey!" The assassin in question interjected.

"Well, I did get your message about how Stenner has basically disappeared. Eventually, I got to thinking-"

"That's always a good thing." McGee glared at the other man.

"I took the liberty of assuming he's not in the system-"

"I"m going to stop you right there, McGee. You know how much the boss hates random assumptions."

"Almost as much as I hate you not getting me results DiNozzo. Continue." Gibbs motioned towards McGee.

"Right boss, so, I dug up some quick background on Stenner instead of just trying to track him down. Both his parents are dead, and the only address he ever listed was a houseboat down in the marina."

"That's really great probie. You found out he had a houseboat more than fifteen years ago. Morning well spent."

"I'm not done yet. The only other thing he had to his name is-was a storage space. He never gave back the key. I'm assuming that if Stenner is our guy, and if he just was released or escaped from prison, that storage space is the only place he has left to go. "

Gibbs nodded.

"Good work McGee." He said and then turned to the other two. "Tony, Ziva, check it out. And this time, get the address from him before he leaves"

"Boss." McGee added quickly and Gibbs turned around. "One more thing that I thought was strange. I checked with the Harvard, Vance and Stenner were apparently vary close. I thought you should know."

"Good work...Tim, good work." Gibbs donned a thoughtful expression before heading away.

"McGee is burning the haystack to find the needle." Ziva whispered to Tony as they watched McGee sit down in his desk with an extremely satisfied expression.

"I...that's really the worst mix of metaphors I ever heard." She shrugged in response.

The pair quickly got the address of the old storage facility from McGee and headed towards the elevator.

"So we are going to a storage space that our suspect may have used once, years ago, because he may have escaped or been released and may have kidnapped the director of an armed federal agency?" Ziva began.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. You forgot about the part about some one very important trying to keep him under the radar for reasons unknown." Tony added.

"It could be worse I suppose."

"Oh yeah, you could be driving."


	5. Lost, Found, Then Lost Again

**Note:** this is a pretty short chapter, I'm saying that right now. Less then two pages on my computer and about 760 words in comparison to my usual 1000+ and 4 page chapters. So just comment, because i think they're awesome and they get me to write more. Also, from the readers traffic, apparently, about 600 or so have read the first chapter of this story, and then it goes down hill each successive chapter. I guess people didn't liek the whole evil tony thing. Whatever. So please read and review peoples. Did i mention that this is the beginning of mucho tivaness? No? Well now i have.

Lost, Found, Then Lost Again

"So," Tony casually began, "I'm going apartment hunting tonight." Ziva did not move her gaze from the road ahead of them.

"Good." Tony glanced at his partner out of the corner of his eye in an attempt to gauge her reaction.

"Are you tired of me already?"

"I did not say that."

"Then you want me to stay?"

"I did not say that either."

"All you need to do is say the word and I'll stay in your apartment eating all your food and drinking all your beer for as long as you want." Ziva laughed.

"Of that, I have no doubt Tony." They rode in silence for a while more.

"Seriously," Tony began once again, "If you don't want me to leave, I won't."

"Why should I care what you do?"

"I dunno, I guess I just thought I should tell you there's a possibility I would be moving out."

"Fine."

"Ya' know, I think someone is being a little passive aggressive."

"You should be glad, if I was being simply aggressive, you would probably be dead by now." She snapped at him.

"Hey, hey, I'm just trying to make conversation here, no need to bite my head off."

"It is just that, I believe you are just fleeing from commitment. Again."

"Um...I thought this was just an agreement between friends, you know, just until I get my own place." Tony replied trying to ignore the subtext.

"Of course." Ziva replied coldly. Tony focused on the road. He had, of course, thought about the...future...of him and his odd partner. There where things he knew, she was sexy as hell, she wasn't just another one night stand, she complemented him, she supported him and punctured his ego depending on what was required at the time, and of course, she was sexy as hell. Did he mention she was sexy as hell? And then of course, there were things he didn't know. Whether she saw him as simply a friend, a coworker, was probably the most important. There was no way for him to really know what she thought; she gave a new meaning to the term mixed signals.

One minute she was trying to kill him for prying into her personal life, and the next...

Then, most importantly, there was the fact that permanent relationships of any kind, including one with her, generally gave him an urge to run in the opposite direction.

And so they continued on in the uncomfortable silence until they reached their destination. Neither trusting themselves enough to speak. However, Tony did notice that Ziva slammed the car door rather hard as they pulled up. He honestly didn't know what to make of that, either she was frustrated about him moving out, or pissed that he thought she cared. Like he had said before, impossible to read.

As they approached the building, Tony noticed an old pick up truck partially covered by a tarp parked near the front of the warehouse.

"Ziva." He called. She had noticed it as well and they both began to approach it with guns drawn.

Tony reached out and pulled off the tarp to reveal a bloody, beaten, bruised, and unconscious Director Vance.

"Would you look at that!" He exclaimed to no one in particular. "The probie was right." Ziva rolled her eyes and holstered her gun.

"Keep watch, I'm going to put him in the car." She grabbed one arm while Tony scanned the parking lot. He had just turned his back when a shot rang out behind him. He whirled around in time to see Ziva fall to the ground with a crimson stain blossoming from her shoulder and a man, who he recognized from his mug shots as being Robert Stenner, jump into the car and peal away with Vance still lying in the back.

Tony's gun dropped from his suddenly lifeless fingers as her dropped to Ziva's side, ignoring completely the fleeing suspect. With one hand he futilely attempted to staunch the blood-flow while the other fumbled with his cell phone.

"Gibbs!" He said when he finally managed to dial, "McGee was right, Stenner was here. Ziva's shot. Need help." He finished in a rush, not bothering with complete sentences. He barely registered GIbbs' response that help was on the way.

"Ziva, Ziva, you need to stay awake, help is coming, Gibbs is coming. Just hang tight, just a bit." He pleaded.

Despite his best efforts, he watched helplessly as his injured partner slowly succumbed to unconsciousness.


	6. Encounters

**Note: ** This one took a while to write, mainly because i had little time. Also, i was really burned out by something this weekend, lets just say i hate the letters a, s, and t for now. If you get that hint, good for you, if you don't, it's even better. Anyway, this chapter brings my little story up to the present. Only two or three chapters left. Yay. I dunno if I'll have another sequel to this sequel. I might, I might not. Whatever. I still like reviews, even though i'm not getting as many as I'd like. Oh yeah, i got an idea for a really good one shot story about Tony and Ziva, but then i forgot it. Oh well. I'll try to remember. Now read and review. Or just read. That's cool too.

Encounters

Tony sat. He waited. What he was waiting for, he could no longer remember. He simply sat, staring into space.

He tilted his head to the right. The white washed walls had never seemed so interesting before. So many patterns and bumps. He tilted his head in the other direction. It was as if the surface of the moon had wrapped around the walls of the hospital waiting room.

He paused.

Hospital...hospital...why was he in the hospital again?

His disjointed musings were interrupted by a styrofoam cup being thrust into his hands. He brought it to his lips and sipped on instinct. Gibbs sat down next to him.

"You been here all night, DiNozzo?"

Tony silently nodded, the coffee was quickly rejuvenating him. No wonder Gibbs was addicted. Unfortunately, this new sense of awareness brought with it the memories from the day before.

Ziva shot.

Ziva bleeding.

Ziva being rushed into the ambulance.

Zuva being rushed to the OR.

The list went on and on. He closed his eyes as he attempted to deal with his roiling emotions. Gibbs sat beside him not saying a word, allowing the younger man to compose himself.

"Gibbs...did you ever..." He faltered. "Did you ever watch your partner get hurt?"

A pause.

"Yep."

"Did you ever...lose a partner?"

A longer pause.

"Yep."

Tony resumed his staring contest with the wall. He carefully constructed the wording of his next question.

"Have you ever been...more...than a partner, with a partner?"

Gibbs turned to look at him, the smallest hint of amusement playing on his features.

"Something you need to tell me DiNozzo?"

"Did it end well?"

The amusement faded and Gibbs' gaze returned to the wall ahead.

"Nope."

Tony's head sunk into his hands. He heaved a sigh.

"So then came rule twelve. It makes sense. You've already made the mistakes so we don't have to." Gibbs once again turned his head towards his senior field agent.

"Tony. You're not me." With that, he stood up and headed in the general direction of the coffee machines leaving Tony staring after hime.

The very interesting train of thought that was just beginning to pull out of the station was interrupted by a nurse announcing that Ziva was out of surgery and in recovery. And most importantly, she could receive visitors, if only for a short time.

As Tony approached her room, he couldn't rid himself of the doubts clouding his mind. What if she blamed him? What if she couldn't bear to look at him? He couldn't handle that. Whether he admitted it or not, he needed her, wanted her. Without her, his life was too bland, it was mundane.

As he entered her room, he steeled himself for the inevitable awkward silence, the uncomfortable stares, and the unspoken barrier that would now no doubt would lay between them.

"About time." Ziva snapped as Tony entered. "Now help me get out of here." He gaped at her.

"You've just been shot..." She rolled her eyes.

"You power of deductions are amazing. Help me up." She struggled to rise and hissed as she strained her injured shoulder. Tony rushed to her side.

"Are you crazy? I mean crazier than usual? You just got out of surgery!" She narrowed her eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well Zee-vah, considering the fact that there was a piece of metal lodged in your shoulder, they had to get it out."

"Not about that, I mean about me being crazy. Nevermind. I have been out of surgery nearly half an hour. I am fine. Let us go."

"I don't think so David." The two froze and turned to see an unsmiling Gibbs leaning against the doorframe.

"Gibbs, I am fine! Tell him Tony!" She protested. Tony shifted uncomfortably.

"I actually agree with Gibbs with this one. Ow!" He rubbed his arm where she had punched him.

"I"m ordering you to stay here until the doctors release you Ziva, not a minute earlier. And" He added, "No intimidating, torturing, or threatening a doctor to sign the release." Her face visibly fell and Tony smothered a laugh.

"I'll be outside. When you're ready DiNozzo." With a nod of his head, he was gone.

"So, you were shot." Ziva rolled her eyes.

"As I said before, Your powers of-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it." He struggled for the right words. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"Why?" A genuine look of confusion on her face. Suddenly, realization dawned on her.

"Tony. It is not your fault." She said softly. "Unless of course you were the one who actually shot me. Then it is your fault." He smiled at her weak attempt at humor. They lapsed into silence. Fortunately, it was not the type of silence Tony had feared. It was comfortable, companionable. It felt right.

"Were you not supposed to go apartment poaching this afternoon?" He laughed for no apparent reason.

"Something more important came up than apartment hunting." They smiled at each other.

They continued their familiar small talk and occasional sniping comment until a very exasperated nurse forced Tony out the door. With one last smile shot over his shoulder, he finally joined Gibbs outside. Together they walked towards the exit. Gibbs could sense that the weight had not been fully lifted off the other man's shoulders.

"Doctors say she's gonna be fine DiNozzo."

"I know."

"They said she'll be able to go home in the next few days."

"I know."

"Then what the hell are you so worried about?" Tony's smile faded.

"What if it wasn't alright? What if-" Gibbs cut him off.

"One thing I've learned DiNozzo, is that if the bullets don't get you, the 'what ifs' will." They continued walking.

"What would you do Gibbs?"

"Get him." Tony stopped. Gibbs didn't.

"What do you mean?"

Gibbs turned and stared at him.

"Right...that's what you mean. Got it boss." He paused. "I'm gonna need a few days of sick leave then. Maybe you could arrange that for me?"

"Get well soon. And don't forget a gun" Gibbs said before leaving Tony to his own devices. Tony pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hey, yeah...It's me. Listen, I'm going to need a favor...quite a few of them actually. Don't give me that...Fine, then I guess I'll have to tell...thank you. That's more like it..."

"I'm here because you shot my partner." Tony hissed before straightening up. "Now it's just you and me Stenner." The fugitive let out a hoarse chuckle.

"What makes you think I'm alone?" Tony's eyes widened as he felt a heavy blunt object make contact with the back of his skull.

As he crumpled to the ground, he heard the man who shot his partner laugh.

**Another yay for cliffhangers**


	7. Back on Your Feet

**Note:** This chapter was hard to write, I don't know why. I am pretty happy with how it turned out though. This is basically just filler with information, kinda a big reveal about Vance, very little Tiva, if any. I'm thinking that maybe two more chapters left in this fic. The next one, I'll try to get up in a few days because it will probably be short with just some Tiva fluff or something. ANyway, thats it. If you have any criticism, or compliments, or both, leave them. It's hard to go wrong with reviews. So, enjoy! Or try to enjoy, whatever floats your wagon...or is it boat?

Back on Your feet

Tony blearily blinked as he felt the back of his head; not surprised to find a bump the size of an egg rapidly forming. A large egg.

He rolled onto his side to see Stenner a few feet away loudly arguing with a much larger man, presumably the one who had snuck up behind him. Tony silently cursed.

He had tracked that bastard to an old cabin about a mile away from where he currently lay. As he had driven up, his quarry had flung open the door and made for the trees. He should have checked the cabin first. Hell, he should have gone in there grabbed the director, and left. But off he went, made stupid by the sight of the person who shot Ziva escaping. He should have, he didn't, and here he was. Screwed.

"I say we kill him." He heard the big man say. He also noticed that Stenner had helped himself to his SIG.

"You want to kill a federal agent? Fine. Be my guest. The rest of them will have our heads. Literally. I barely grazed that girl and this one comes after me like a bloodhound."

"Funny, coming from the guy who stole their director."

"He's different. Besides, I'm not paying you to think. I'm paying you to do."

"Yah, that's sumthin' else we need to talk about. You haven't given me shit. All you do is keep talking about this damn hoard of money. Where the hell is it?"

"Be patient, Leon will tell me eventually. I just need more time. He's very...uncooperative at the moment." Tony realized that he should probably think of a plan before the two stopped disagreeing about money and began agreeing about killing him. As he moved his arm, the dull throb in his head exploded into paralyzing pain. Perfect.

Meanwhile, his temporary captors were still haggling.

"I want a guarantee. Some upfront."

"You're just muscle, a dime a-fuckin-dozen. You either wait and get it all later, or be a greedy bastard and get nothing. Now."

The large man pondered for a moment.

"Fine. But I want fifteen grand." Stenners hand tightened on Tony's gun.

"What?"

The thug hefted a large tree branch from the ground by his feet. Tony guessed that was what had hit him.

"There may be alot like me, but they don't know you have the director of some Navy Secret Police in the cabin up there." He shifted the tree branch to his other shoulder in a somewhat threatening manner.

Stenner attempted to stare down his hired thug but failed.

"Fine. Fifteen." His eyes fell on Tony. "But let's deal with him first."

Tony's eyes darted between the two approaching figures. If he was ever going to act, now would be the time.

"So, what're you two gonna do now? Shoot me?" The big man shrugged.

"Seems like."

"Well," Tony started, "It sounds simple, easy, hard to mess up, even for him." He motioned towards Stenner "I mean, he tried robbing a bank, got caught, tried kidnapping a director, got caught...twice. I'm sure he's not gonna bring you down with him." To Tony's surprise, Stenner burst into laughter.

"He didn't tell you did he? Of course he didn't. He was too proud. That and his father would have made sure know one knew." Stenner laughed again as he saw Tony's expression turn into one of puzzlement.

"I wasn't 'captured' I wasn't 'caught' after I committed those bank robberies, hell, it wasn't even my idea. I had a partner, the bastard who turned me in. He also kept most of the money while his father sent me to rot in prison. Your 'director'" He spat out the last word with distaste. "gave me up. He and his father. I was in prison for seventeen fucking years, and what did he get? A promotion. And then I escaped, I escaped to do the things I've been dreaming of every night for seventeen years. All I wanted was revenge, and of course, the money he stole from me. But then you and that bitch interfered. You two had more loyalty than sense I suppose." He cocked the gun and slowly began approaching the downed agent.

Tony grinned at him, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"It's not loyalty to Vance then sent me here. Gibbs!" He shouted in the direction of the trees, "You get all that?"

Stenner and his lackey whirled towards the trees, scanning for Tony's backup. Too late they realized the ruse and turned back to see a shaky Tony holding the back-up from his ankle holster.

"I can't believe you fell for that. Really? I practically told you I was alone. Ah well, drop the gun, or do you really want me to take out the other leg?"

Stenner's mouth froze in a silent snarl as he dropped his own weapon.

"Damn. I was kinda hoping you wouldn't. You called my partner a bitch and I was looking forward to seeing you squirm a bit more. The least I can do is let you rot for a few more decades. Now both of you, let's take a walk..."

McGee sighed, his eyes moving from one empty desk, to the other. For the past two days, he had been the only one of the team to be...well on the team. Gibbs had been in his basement, Ziva the hospital, and Tony was...God knows where.

He was currently the highest ranking agent at NCIS headquarters, but that meant he had to catch all the crap as well. The SecNav had alot of it to throw.

McGee had learned that the ability to yell for five minutes without taking a breath was a apparently now a prerequisite to becomeing the secretary of the navy. The upside, of course, being that McGee had to do very little talking himself during these meetings.

He had simply reassured the man that everything was being done to retrieve director Vance. The secretary had some choice words about his definition of everything before cutting the feed.

Being in charge sucked. Being in charge in the middle of a crisis sucked more. Much more.

The elevator doors opened interrupting McGee's feelings of self pity to reveal Gibbs with his customary cup of coffee.

"Boss!" McGee called as soon as the older man got in range. Where have you been? Where's Tony? How's Ziva? SecNav called earlier. Several times, I told him that we were doing everything we could...what are we doing?"

Gibbs answered all the questions with one of his silent and intimidating stares. McGee faltered and waited. Gibbs looked away and headed for his desk.

"Ziva's fine. Tony is wherever Stenner is, and I'll handle the SecNav."

"What do you mean Tony's where Stenner is?" McGee asked. Gibbs shrugged.

"Stenner shot his partner."

"Boss, wouldn't Tony come back if he wanted to find Stenner? Not just go wandering off on his own. If anything, he should be with Ziva. Instead he's abandoned all of us to go on some revenge mission-" A look from Gibbs silenced him.

"Listen to me McGee. If your partner takes a bullet, and whoever did it escapes, you go after them. No matter how far they run, no matter where they run, you follow. It doesn't matter how long it takes. You do it. If not for your partner, then for yourself."

"I just hope he gets here soon. I've had to handle everything myself. I'm just glad you're here now boss because-" For the second time, a look from Gibbs stopped him in his tracks. This time however, it wasn't aimed at him, it was aimed behind him.

He turned to find a smiling Anthony DiNozzo.

"Miss me McLonesome?"


	8. Hospital Talk

**Note: ** This is just a kinda random chapter. Just basically a Tony/Ziva interaction thing. I just love what goes on between those two. Anyway, Heartland was a really good Gibb centered episode, and was worth watching, but seriously. There needs to be more Tiva. The only real Tiva scene i could find was when Ziva was like "He is driving up this afternoon." Because i don't think Gibbs' dad asked when he was coming, but i could be wrong. So Ziva just volunteered that information because she was excited...or not. I think its a bad sign when i have to try to analyze undertones to fins a Tiva moment. Whatever. About this story then, I'm thinking one more chapter to end it, or two max. I doubt I'll write a sequel, but you never know. I probably will if there is more Tiva to inspire me. Anyway, read and hopefully review.

Hospital Talk

Ziva awoke to find Tony passed out in a chair beside her hospital bed. She grinned wickedly. He really made this too easy. She grabbed a nearby cup of water and promptly doused her partner with it.

He spluttered into consciousness.

"Wha-what?" He stammered in confusion, looking for whatever had woken him. "What just happened?"

"I believe you had a, how do you say? Wet dream." She smiled innocently at him.

"Har har har." He muttered. "You're hilarious David. Now I'll probably catch a cold, walking through a hospital with wet clothes."

"I am glad you still have your priorities level while your partner lies next to you with a bullet in her shoulder." She commented dryly.

"Set my priorities straight, Ziva, set them straight." He grinned. "Besides, you're fine. The doctors say you can leave tomorrow. You'll be on the streets kicking ass in no time."

She sighed.

"But not soon enough. I have been penned up here for weeks."

"Uh, you've been here less than three days Ziva."

"Whatever." She waved her hand in dismissal at his correction. "I will be glad to get out of here and help you track down the bastard who shot me."

"Yeah...about that." Tony shifted his gaze away from his partner, not able to meet her eyes.

"What 'about that' Tony?"

"I kinda already caught him." Ziva stared blankly at him.

"You captured him without me?"

"Hey! I thought you would be happy!"

"Happy? Happy? I was looking forward to putting a bullet in him myself!"

Tony gave her a strange look.

"Don't you mean 'take into custody'?"

She shrugged and continued on.

"I will be able to interrogate him, will I not?"

Tony didn't answer.

"Tony!" She said warningly.

"Gibbs is doing it! Okay?" He finally exclaimed. "Or at least, he was doing it when I left him." He glanced at his watch. " That was about four hours ago. He's probably still interrogating him." He paused. "Before I left, Gibbs told me to tell you that you're gonna be on desk duty for a few weeks." He braced himself against her imminent outrage.

"I am going to be on what?" She hissed dangerously.

"Desk work...until your shoulder heals completely..." Tony mumbled.

"That is unacceptable! I am able to take care of myself and I am as effective with one arm as I am with two! You two chauvinists think I am helpless do you not?"

"Yeah, that's why we give you a gun and let you rush into potentially deadly situations. Because we think women are weaker than men." He stated sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"I am perfectly capable of defending myself without a gun, or do you want a demonstration?" Ziva snapped.

"Woah, relax Ziva, calm down. It's just that, since...L.A." He looked away. "I don't want to see anyone close to me get hurt again. And that's less likely to happen if you don't go into the field until you're back at one hundred percent." That was the truth. Tony had managed to have a quick conversation with Gibbs before the older man had entered the interrogation room. He had patiently listened to his senior fields agent's dubious arguments before agreeing with him. In Gibbs' mind, those few weeks were more for Tony's piece of mind than Ziva's health. An annoyed Ziva was better than an over protective and worried Tony. Not much better, but better.

Ziva's expression softened.

"I know what it is like to see a...close friend hurt." She finally said. Tony looked back up and smiled in return.

"So, when did the doctors say you would be fit for...strenuous activity?" He flashed a smile.

"If you mean kicking your ass, I could do that right now DiNozzo."

An hour later, they were still enjoying each other's company.

"Tony," Ziva said as she realized the time. I thought that you were supposed to go apartment poaching."

"Yeah, I put off my apartment hunting for a while. I guess you'll be stuck with me for a little while longer." Ziva grinned. It could be worse.

"I suppose I can live with that."

Tony let out a bark of laughter.

"Yeah, I'm sure you can. I, on the other hand, doubt I'll survive."

"You will be fine Tony." He returned her smile as he got up to leave.

"By the way," He turned around when he reached the door. "I just wanted to tell you that your bed is amazing. I haven't slept that well for a long time. And, I don't want you to read into this at all, but does bleach work on your satin sheets? Again, just curious." Ziva's narrowed her eyes and her fingers began drifting towards her pillow. Tony remembered too late that Gibbs had managed to smuggle her a gun in case Stenner had attempted to finish the job.

"I guess I'll just go then..." He trailed off and quickly darted away.

"Tony!" He heard an angry voice call after him. He smiled to himself.

This was definitely going to be an adventure.


	9. Are You Threatening Me?

Note: I really liek this chapter, I don't know why, but it was fun to write and i think it turned out really nice. Basically sums up the plot and what I think the whole Vance thing is about. Basically, I just like this chapter. I'm thinking about one chapter more to finish up the story, then...I don't know. I'm probably going to write some more Tiva one shots. Thanks to the few who reviewed and whoever actually read the whole thing. So, here it goes.

Are You Threatening me?

NCIS director Leon Vance compulsively straightened the pencil before him. He had just arrived from the hospital where he had refused most medical treatment and had checked out AMA. He had work to do. Very important, very old work. Work that should have been finished years ago, something he thought he had left behind.

He was asked for authorization from the SecNav to transfer Stenner to Quantico. That should keep him out of his hair. He looked up to see a very composed Gibbs standing before him.

"Leon."

"Jethro."

Silence reigned.

"I just had a very enlightening chat with your buddy Robert Stenner." Gibbs tilted his head to judge the other man's reaction.

"Strange, I distinctly remember ordering you not to interrogate him."

Gibbs shrugged.

"You were badly dehydrated, maybe even delirious, semi-conscious. Your order didn't hold a lot of weight with me. I just followed procedure."

"Procedure my ass." Vance growled. "Nothing that had happened in the past few days had been even close to resembling procedure." He reached for a form. "The secretary of the Navy deceiving the other department heads, a team leader playing director and moving agents around like checkers." He grabbed a pen and began writing furiously. "One agent shot and another who went on a revenge trip, liable to no one, using unnecessary force, bribery, blackmail-"

"Don't forget the director of NCIS participating in a bank heist." Vance froze at his subordinates words.

"Yeah, Stenner had quite a tale for me." Gibbs continued unfazed. "Apparently, you two were roommates at Harvard. And then some one had the bright idea to rob a nearby bank. I guess you just needed the thrill. Got away too, except for one small detail. Your father found out. He made a few calls. You got away clean, your partner did hard time. Your father made sure of that. Where did the money end up anyway? Trust fund?"

"I returned it to the bank. Anonymously. My father sent me to Annapolis within the month." Vance said, eyes not moving from his desk.

"To be honest, Leon, I couldn't care less about what you did nearly twenty years ago. No one was hurt, and you returned the money. However, if the press were to some how discover that the director of an armed federal agency was once a felon, even if he wasn't convicted, there would be hell to pay. Mainly for you."

"Are you threatening me agent Gibbs?"

"You could say that, yeah."

Vance sighed and hung his head.

"I assume you want your team back."

"Good guess."

"I can give you Tony and McGee, but as of now Ziva is still working at the embassy. I'm already getting calls, furious that she has been injured, as well demands that she be returned to them. I can't guarantee anything."

"You'll figure something out." Gibbs turned to leave.

"Gibbs!" Gibbs stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Does anyone else know?" Vance asked.

_Tony nodded in appreciation._

"_Thanks boss. I think Ziva needs the desk work whether she likes it or not. She needs time to rest."_

"_So do you DiNozzo." Gibbs said. Tony gave him a weak smile before continuing._

"_There's something else..." He faltered. "Stenner said some things, when I was bringing him in. Information I'm not sure how to deal with..."_

_Gibbs stopped him._

"_Go to Ziva. I'll deal with things here." He said before slipping into the interrogation room. _

Gibbs looked at the man whose career he held in his hands. The man who had broken up his team, the man who had stolen from held up a bank and left his best friend to deal with the consequences. It was also the man who would bring his team back together, albeit, he didn't have much choice in the matter. The man who had returned the money he had stolen.

"Does it matter?" Gibbs finally answered. He left without waiting for a response.

Vance sighed and stared at the empty space.

"Apparently, it doesn't." He answered himself.

"For the love of God Tony, would you please stop throwing your crap at me?"

"Crap? Crap Probie? These paper airplanes are the best work I've done in years." The senior field agent threw yet another folded projectile at his long suffering companion.

"You've been like this ever since you came back from the hospital. What happened? You and Ziva kiss and make-" He was cut off by a perfectly aimed shot in his open mouth. He quickly spat out the now damp piece of paper.

"Hey! That was a cheap shot!"

"I could say the same to you probie."

McGee satisfied himself with a sullen glare directed at his team mate. Tony answered it with an expression as innocent as McGee's was annoyed.

"You two are still here?" Gibbs interrupted the duo's standoff.

"Well boss, there's a lot of paperwork we have to do here and I thought that-"

"Don't worry about a report on this one. The director will take care of it. Go home" He and Tony exchanged knowing glances.

"Alright. No problem boss." McGee cheerfully replies, completely unaware of Tony and Gibb's silent conversation. "Tony, do you need a ride or-"

"I got it McGee."

"Okay, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." He grabbed his bag and headed towards the elevator.

"So Vance really..." Tony began once McGee was out of earshot.

"Yep."

"And we aren't going to tell McGee and Ziva?"

"Nope."

"Any particular reason?" His question was met by silence on Gibbs' part. "Right." He finished. "I guess I'll go home then."

"Unless you want to clean the heads, yeah, you should."

Tony quickly gathered his own things and followed McGee's earlier lead.

"And DiNozzo."

"Yeah boss?"

"Don't think I don't know about the arrangement you have with Officer David."

"Got it boss."

"Don't do anything your mother wouldn't approve of." Gibbs said, a hint of laughter in his voice.

Tony smiled and entered the elevator. Once the doors closed, he chuckled to himself.

"If only you knew my mother."


	10. Epliogue

**Note:** This is just a pretty short ending to the story. Basically Tiva fluff that has nearly no connection at all to the story. But it's been fun. Thanks to all the readers and reviewers. Basically, this is the end of my first major multi chaptered fic. Like I said it's been fun. So....now all that's left is to read the final chapter of 48 hours. There may or may not be a sequel. Enjoy.

Epilogue

Tony kept his arm around her partner's waist as he guided her through the door to her apartment.

"I am fine Tony, really. I was shot in the shoulder, not the leg."

"Of course you are." Tony casually replied, not removing his arm. She rolled her eyes and wrenched away from her overprotective partner. The quick movement caused her to lose her balance and she careened into the wall.

Tony grabbed her arms to keep her from falling. They remained in that position, each body only inches from the other.

"I believe you can let go of me Tony." Ziva finally spoke, her voice annoyingly unsteady.

"You never know David, gravity is tricky. You could fall if I let you go." Tony smirked.

Ziva once again pulled away, more carefully this time. She moved to the center of the room proving her ability to walk straight.

She turned to find her partner was directly behind her. She looked up at him.

"I can walk without you there to catch me if I fall."

Tony shrugged.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should." He walked past her towards the kitchen without another word. She stared after him.

That couldn't possibly be as deep and philosophical as it sounded...could it?

She hurried after him.

"What are you hiding from me Tony?" She blurted out when she finally found him fiddling with the microwave; all her subtle interrogation tactics forgotten. He turned towards her with a look of genuine confusion on his face.

"What?"

"You are hiding something from me. You had the same look when you were...with...jeanne."

"Ziva, I assure you that I'm not dating a heiress to a multi million dollar gun running operation. In fact, I'm not dating anyone. You interested?"

She scoffed.

"Something is wrong, you are not yourself!"

Ding

Tony turned and grabbed the now cooked hot pocket from the microwave.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said quickly before taking a large bite from the steaming pastry simultaneously rendering him unable to speak.

"Stop that!" She swiped it from his hand. He stared at it mournfully. "This is serious!"

Tony gulped down his massive mouthful before answering.

"You want to know what's bothering me? You! You almost died because of me! You were shot and it was my fault.

"I told you not to blame yourself Tony." Ziva answered softly. However, Tony continued his impassioned speech.

"You want to know why I kept my arm around you on the way in? To reassure myself you were there, that you were real. To make sure you hadn't died and I wasn't in some sort of hallucination. I've already lost one partner, and I refuse to lose another one. Especially not you Ziva."

Ziva finally silenced him by putting her finger to his lips.

"Shh. You will not lose me Tony. I am hard to kill. Many have tried, none have succeeded."

"Obviously." He mumbled before moving her hand. "But there's more than one way to lose you."

She looked at him quizzically.

"I don't know how to explain this," He continued on, "every time I see you, the world gets a little brighter. You're smile...you're laugh, they're just perfect..." He struggled to find the words he was looking for. "I'm not sure how to explain..."

"Let me try." With those words Ziva reached up and pulled his lips to her own. After a few minutes of the passionate embrace Tony broke off.

"You always did have a way with words." He smiled ruefully.

Ziva laughed.

"What now Mr. DiNozzo?" She asked, her voice laced with more than a hint of seduction.

"I'm thinking something that involves a bed, sheets, and several noise complaints from the neighbors."

"You said my mind."

"It's actually rea-forget it."

Ziva moved towards the bedroom. Tony smiled and started after before rushing back towards the table and grabbing the nearly forgotten hot pocket.

"Tony!"

"What? I'm hungry, and I'm pretty sure I'll be needing the energy the way this night is heading."

Ziva scoffed.

"Just get in here."

"Yes my lady." He gave a mock bow.

His last coherent thoughts were along the lines of wether living together counted as dating or not.

**Gotta love hot pockets.**


End file.
